Check Out Who's On That Hog

I'm sure most of you have heard by now, but I bought a hog. Well, it's really just a bicycle - a Yamaha PAS Kiss Mini motor assisted bicycle to be exact. No big deal.


When we came to Tokyo on our house hunting trip, Stephanie told me the first thing I should do is get a bike with two child seats.  The thought of riding a bike with one, let alone two kids attached sounded terrifying. I started noticing mothers all over town doing it though (in stilettos, many with a baby strapped in the front pack), so I figured there must be something to it. We quickly realized that the bicycles all had motors to assist with pedaling - without that it would be nearly impossible to ride around hilly Tokyo with all that extra weight.

It took me a few weeks of pushing my Phil and Ted's double stroller loaded up with nearly 60 pounds of little girl to start to more seriously consider getting one of these terrifying bikes. The hills, heat and humidity are no joke here and I started to dread having to go on outings with my massive stroller/tank.

I asked around a little bit and posted a question on the Tokyo Mothers Group Facebook page about where to check out bikes and was directed to a bike shop called Motovelo that lets you test drive the bikes before buying. Joe dropped Annie and I off one Saturday afternoon and we took 3 different bikes for a spin. The first bike I tried had a standard sized frame and wheels and one seat mounted on the back of the bike. I immediately didn't like the feel of this, but it's hard to say whether it was due to the higher mounted seat or the fact that I can't remember the last time I rode a bike that wasn't stationary. I then tried a bike with a smaller frame and smaller wheels which meant the child seat over the back wheel was much lower to the ground.  Not only was it way easier to load Annie into this one, it felt much more comfortable and safe to me. I tried a third bike, similar to the second, this time with Annie riding in the front child seat.  This was the part that I feared the most - haivng the weight of a kid sitting between the handlbars HAD to affect the steering, right? Surprisingly, it was fine! The bike was specially designed to hold either a child seat or large basket in the front between the handlebars and I barely even noticed she was in there.  In short, small wheel radius + small, heavy frame = lower center of gravity, therefore less fear of ever tipping.

Long story short, I asked the sales person a LOT of questions about all of the different models trying to figure out what would be the safest and most reliable choice for us. I talked to Joe about it that night, then went back a few nights later and made the big purchase. It was somewhat difficult as the sales person helping me didn't speak the best English, and I of course speak NO Japanese. Kind of scary to think I was spending such a big chunk of money on something I basically knew nothing about. But, when in Rome! The Yamaha that I picked came with a battery that lasts up to 37 km before needing recharging, as well as the front child seat that converts into a large basket when not in use. I had to purchase the back seat separately for about 15,000 yen ($150), and since they didn't have that in stock I had to come back a few days later to get it installed for 2,000 yen ($20).  I also had to pay about 4,000 yen ($40 US) for a pre-ride inspection where they did things like attach the pedals (important to have those!), fill up the tires and make sure everything was in working order.  There was a significant amount of paperwork to go through and after another 1,000 yen ($10 US) for registration I was finally all set.  I decided to just ride the bike home that night rather than wait for the 2nd child seat to come in because I wanted to get some practice riding it on my own before I put the girls on.

 It definitely felt a bit like an impulse buy but I was worried that if I didn't just bite the bullet I would indecisively mull it over for weeks.  In hindsight, I'm really happy with my decision! It only took a few rides to feel comfortable on the bike and it really has made my life here in Tokyo significantly easier. I can zip around town with the girls and now look forward to our daily rides. I really was feeling pretty confined to a small radius around our apartment.  Despite the public transportation being excellent here, it's still a bit confusing and a somewhat stressful undertaking to try it with 2 kids. Especially by myself, as not all subway stations are stroller friendly.

The Battery. It comes off with a key and I pop it onto a charger that plugs into the wall.

Mounted on left handle bar - number tells you what percentage of battery is remaining. Up and down arrow buttons allow you to select electric assist level: low, medium or high. Another button turns the front headlight on (required by law!)

It really is amazing how much the motor helps in pedaling up inclines.  We live at the top of a pretty steep hill and I often see people having to get off their bikes and push them if they don't have a motor.While it still takes some leg power (thank goodness I've been spinning my face off for the past year) I can pedal right up the steepest of hills.  The motor also gives you a nice little burst of power when start up again after stopping, eliminating any wobbly factor that usually occurs in that situation.

My parking spot in our garage. Lots of bikes! Mine is the coolest by far.

Speaking of new rides and parking spaces, Joe's new Prius in his TINY space, right next to the world's worst parker.  Seriously. Every. Time.

Heading to the pool! Her?

There we go!

Lizzy enjoying an evening ride while eating a banana.

Commemorating our first ride as a party of 3 in the parking garage at the Tokyo American Club.

Better Late Than Never

We got a little behind in our posts from our Singapore and Bali trip and finally got them up. Just didn't want anyone getting confused and thinking that we are currently on an exotic vacation. :) Still just hanging out in Tokyo!

Breakfast in Bali

Breakfast is included with all rooms at the St. Regis Bali, and it did not disappoint.  While maybe not quite as amazing as the W in Singapore, in addition to the buffet, it also had an extensive menu from which you could order.  I think Joe had the steak and eggs every morning.  They also had really good smoothies in many different flavors.

Fresh squeezed orange juice and a Virgin Mary, a hotel specialty.

Kid approved!

We typically loaded up during breakfast, then had lunch and dinner either from room service or a casual cafe at the resort.

We had a few communication issues with the staff who spoke English but were sometimes hard to understand. Two of the funnier ones had to do with ordering room service. When we checked in the staff informed us that a special "family treat" was included in our stay. Both Joe and I thought they said it would be a free "hot meal" and cookies for the girls. OK! They said to just call and let them know when we would like it.  When I called to order it a few days later, the man over the phone asked me if I would like hot meal or cold meal. I asked what was in the meals, and he said, "Just meal." I was so confused. When cookies and milk were delivered to the room a few minutes later we finally realized that they had been saying "HOT MILK" the entire time.

Another night when placing a dinner order over the phone I asked if the kitchen could prepare a bowl of plain peas for the girls to eat, since their vegetable intake on the trip was less than stellar. The man taking my order asked me a few funny questions about how I would the peas, and we finally agreed (I thought) that I just wanted some plain, steamed peas. When the order arrived the server proudly pulled the cover off a dish contained a plain piece of steamed fish. We went back and forth for a bit with me saying "Peas??" and him nodding and smiling saying "Yes, peas!" Well, turns out Indonesians say the word "fish" exactly like "peas." We finally sorted it out when I found a piece of paper and wrote out the word "peas." He was unnecessarily apologetic, we had a good laugh and he took back the fish and brought some peas.

Bali

We booked a round trip ticket earlier in the week on Air Asia from SIN to DPS.  I do not recall the exact price but it was under $200 per ticket, but would have been much, much cheaper had we booked in advance.  Since we ultimately were not sure we were actually going to take the trip, we weren't able to do so.  We got to the airport in plenty of time, boarded pretty quickly and had a very nice flight experience, except for one other family on the plane.  A British family let their kids run all around the flight for most of the two hours and left it up to their nanny to try to reign them in.  As our luck would have it, they were also on our return flight, where the rambunxious boy barfed all over the aisle. 

We landed at the airport and were met by a nice lady from the hotel who walked us through the immigration process and took care of everything.  When booking the hotel, Joe had not really given much thought to the round trip hotel transfer that was included, but it ended up being a life saver.  While it would have been fine if it was just the two of us, the additional help was greatly appreciated because Annie and Lizzy were not in the best of moods.

The woman asked for our passports so she could go ahead and pre-clear customs.  Joe handed them to her, but immediately regretted it once Mary pointed out we were not even certain she was actually from the hotel.  She returned after a few tense minutes and said that we were all set and could pass through a different area when clearing customs.  This was really a life saver because we avoided a pretty long customs line and it would have taken us a while to figure out protocol if we had had to do it ourselves. She walked us through a couple hundred meter path to the car, and we asked if there was time to grab the girls (and ourselves) something from Burger King.  Luckily there was and it was amazing.

The hotel had a minivan waiting with pre-installed car seats, which was nice since it was a bit chaotic and installing two car seats was the last thing Joe wanted to do right then.  We had about an hour ride to the hotel through some really interesting scenery.  Bali is a bustling city with many crazy motorcycle drivers and lots of things Annie had never seen before.  

We were so glad we had help with the transportation to the the hotel.  In addition to getting to speed through customs, the cab area looked a bit shady and I think it would have made for a very stress filled transfer.  If new to an area and traveling with jet-lagged little ones, it might be a good idea to consider pre-arranged hotel transfers.

The St. Regis Bali is in a resort area with a number of other hotels, including a Hyatt and Westin where we considered staying as well.  It has a gorgeous entry way and a beautiful open air lobby.  We were greeted by a number of hotel employees who took all the luggage and helped with the girls. The girls were close to melting down at this point, and  I stayed with them in the lobby area while Joe was at the front desk checking in.

We made it.  Check in to the front and ocean behind us

Lobby background music

Lots of time spent looking at the lobby fish and trying to get in

We booked the entry level rate through the American Express Fine Hotels & Resort program.  It was the same rate as at the St. Regis website but it included a couples massage as well.  We received a small upgrade to a better room, but we were really hoping to have something with better access to a pool for the girls, so we asked what options there were for cash upgrades.  For $150/night extra, they could move us to a bigger room with better pool options.  While certainly more than we wanted to spend, we decided to splurge.  I think we are glad that we did because the room was spectacular.

We moved to a Garden Pool Villa that was like a little one-bedroom house with a backyard with a nice sized pool for the girls.  It had a small courtyard out in front of the door and a doorbell that the girls tried to ring every time we passed it.  Best part was it was close to the hotel pool and the beach area.

Walk way to the room, which is to the left

Living and dining area, with pool out the back doors

Bedroom

Patio off the bedroom

Amazing bathroom with a perfect tub for the girls

Welcome snack and Happy Birthday flowers, Joe is so thoughtful

One of a few fairly reasonably price room service meals

It was the nicest room we have ever stayed at and helped to make our stay amazing.  While everything felt very well done with the room, the girls only cared about the pool.  And since they could always see it through the windows, there were a handful of melt downs on the rare occasions where we weren't actually in the pool.

Lizzy ready to head out and get in the pool

Many hours spent in the backyard pool on this part of the trip

Having the pool right off the back of the room was amazing.  Even though the hotel a giant salt water lagoon pool that was the best pool I have ever seen at a resort, it was so nice to have this small one right there for us to use whenever we felt like taking a quick swim.  They also enjoyed the other aspects of the backyard as well.

A nice Korean lady who thought the girls were cute bought them candy

Treats in the backyard meditation structure

The room was amazing but there were many other parts of the hotel we enjoyed just as much.

Marina Bay Sands Singapore

We had seen the Marina Bay Sands on travel TV shows and in pictures so we thought it would be fun to go check it out in person.  Joe definitely prefers to stay at Starwood and Hyatt properties (to a fault at times) but we both agreed we would regret not checking this place out.

We arrived at the Marina Bay Sands Singapore in the early afternoon and unlike everywhere else we stayed, there was no one to assist with luggage.  Eventually we found a bellman once we hauled everything into the lobby and he took the luggage up to our room.  Check in was uneventful and we got assigned a fairly standard room on the 36th floor overlooking the sea and a huge garden park right on the water.

View from the balcony of our room

A nice bathroom. A dining room while Lizzy slept

4th hotel in 7 days.  Getting a little silly

Annie thought this was hilarious, as did her audience, Lizzy.

The room was nice and clean with a big bathroom but nothing too remarkable.  That was fine by us because the hotel was able to provide two cribs and we were there mostly to see shopping area (because we didn't get to see enough luxury shopping while on Orchard Road) and the 60th floor infinity pool.  We had some apples, got dressed for the pool, and headed up to the 60th floor.

Unfortunately for our pictures, it was an overcast day so they did not come out very well, but it was a really cool pool.  It was crowded but we had no problem finding four lounge chairs together. There was a kid pool at the far end of the pool area that the girls liked but we really enjoyed the main pool with the view over the marina.

After we went back down to our rooms, Joe headed downstairs with Annie to the mall to get some food for dinner while I stayed up and put Lizzy down for bed.  He got us Pizzeria Mozza which was really exciting because I had been asking him for over a year to take me there and he never did.  Hard to be mad at him for it since he almost always makes up for his lack of romance with amazing trips and hotels.  The food was delicous, even on the bathroom floor.

One of the reason we like to stay at the hotels where we have status is for the fairly frequent free upgrades.  Despite being among the most expensive rooms during our trip, it was the first standard room we were in and we really missed the extra space. It is nice to have extra space to lounge around in, but it really is great at night when we can separate ourselves from the girls while they sleep.  Since we didn't have that luxury in this room, we had to eat dinner on the floor in the bathroom because Lizzy was asleep in the main room. It was a nice bathroom, but still not an ideal situation.

*Reading back over this post, 8 months later, I am wondering why we didn't put Lizzy's crib in the bathroom so we could eat in the main room. She has spent many a night in a hotel bathroom since then!

Had an anniversary cake waiting for us in the room when we returned from the pool!

We had to leave for the airport pretty early the next morning for our flight to Bali, so we cleaned up a bit and went to bed shortly after we finished eating.  We packed up in the morning and headed down to grab a cab to the airport.  While a much shorted stay at the Marina Bay Sands than we would have liked, we were glad we made the effort to see the development and check out the pool.

We had an amazing time in Singapore, even with the severe jet lag.  It is really an easy city to get around and we always felt safe, even at 3am with all the ladies of the night pinching Lizzy's chubby legs.  Despite it consistently being ranked as one of the world's most expensive cities, we found it relatively affordable.  We were sad to have to be leaving so soon, but we were also excited to start a relaxed few days in Bali.

Universal Studios Singapore

We got a little busy and are only 8 months behind on finishing these posts, but better late than never!

We thought it was a bit funny that we decided to go to Universal Studios Singapore since we live(d) literally 5 minutes from Universal Studios Hollywood and have never been. So naturally we would go to the one that is halfway around the world. It also just so happened to be my birthday that day, and I was excited to try out some of the rides since when we visited Universal Studios in Orlando I was very pregnant and unable to ride ANYTHING in the entire park.

Universal Studios Singapore is located in Sentosa, a resort destination on the outskirts of Singapore.  They continue to build it out but aside from some hotels, Universal, a casino and some residential areas, it seemed pretty quiet and off the beaten path.  We took a cab from our hotel and it was just a few minutes to the complex.  We actually had a bit of a hard time finding the park entrance but once we got there we bought our tickets and we in a few minutes later.

The park was well kept and not busy, but we said many times that it was hard to really 'get' a lot of it since we had never seen a lot of the movies that many of the attractions were based on. I was SUPER excited to ride the Jurassic Park ride, which was a water ride, but it was pretty disappointing. I guess in reality it is a really old ride, but I was expecting more than the lifeless dinosaur statues that lined the boat ride. The ones that did move just looked like bad animatronics. Also, it was a water ride and I was the ONLY person in my boat who got completely soaked.  Everyone else in my raft had ponchos on and we all stayed pretty dry for the entire ride, and then at the bottom of the big drop at the end a giant wave splashed right over my head.

Lizzy's first Universal Park, every one else's second

Not quite the same as Mickey, but not too bad

There were a few rides that Annie really enjoyed - a dumbo type ride in the Jurassic Park area and a Madagascar themed indoor boat ride.

We also took them to a Sesame Street live show and a splash pad that was the hit of the day, and made the girls the hit of the park.

As we saw with the crowds at the Singapore Flyer, chubby girls with blonde hair and blue eyes are a bit of a novelty in this part of the world.  Many people were grabbing the girls and trying to get in pictures with them and were very interested in Annie and Lizzy.  The girls were pretty unfazed for most of the time but had had enough once the crowd grew pretty large.

After a few more grabs from ladies like this one, Lizzy decided it was time to go.  We headed to the bathroom to get them cleaned up and spent a little time on their version of main street and decided to head back to the hotel or a swim.

Overall, it was a really fun day for the girls and it is always fun seeing a new theme park.  While it did not resonate for us like a Disney Park, we would consider going back if we ended up back in that area again.